FRESNO – A man who allegedly posed as a girl in order to sexually exploit boys through the Internet is now facing more than a dozen charges of sexual abuse.
Jose Ricardo Carrillo Montes, 27, more commonly known as Ricardo Carrillo, was arrested by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies began investigating Carrillo last September after a teenage boy reported that he had been sexually exploited through the Internet. Carrillo allegedly contacted the boy by pretending to be a 19-year-old woman, and the two shared sexually explicit photos with each other, according to Sheriff Margaret Mims.
Detectives learned that Carrillo had used apps such as Whisper and Kik to connect with teenage boys, Mims said.
“He would post pictures of a 19-year-old female and the young boys thought they were, in fact, communicating with this 19-year-old woman, when in fact they were communicating with Carrillo,” Mims said.
When the boys discovered that Carrillo was actually a man, he then threatened them using the explicit pictures they had sent, Mims said.
“Carrillo actually blackmailed the boys and said, ‘If you don’t do what I want you to do, I will spread these photographs around your neighborhood and your school and with your family members,” Mims said.
Carrillo met with some of the boys, and had physical sexual contact with them at his home and in public places, according to Mims.
Detectives originally arrested him on September 19 after serving a search warrant at his home in the 2700 block of Northhill Street in Selma. He posted bond and bailed out of jail in October.
Detectives continued investigating the case, and were able to re-arrest Carrillo on Monday after discovering that he had targeted at least four other boys and offered money in exchange for pictures. Agents from the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force made the arrest at a home in Dinuba, according to the sheriff’s department.
Mims warned parents to pay attention to what their children are doing on computers and phones.
“Take those devices, know what your kid’s passwords are, do some research into what these apps are to make sure your children aren’t compromised like these young boys were,” she said.
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